Welcome to Madison Church. My name is Stephen Fee from the Lead Pastor here, and I'm so glad that you're joining us online. This week In my house I've got three little kids. They're all under the age of 10, which means we watch a ton of Disney movies, and my favorite Disney movies are the ones done by Pixar. I love the storytelling and the way that they make the movies. It's just really great. And every now and then I'll be watching one of those movies for the 500th or 600th time and a scene or a moment will really pop out at me and it's kind of like I can use this at a talk at Madison Church because there's theology in it.

And one of those examples is found in the movie Finding Nemo. This is a Disney Pixar film about an overprotective clownfish named Marlin and his son named Nemo, and I'm sure most of you, or many of you, have seen this movie. But to kind of recap it in case you haven't, or in case it's been a while you don't have little kids at home making you watch it over and over again. After a tragic incident in which Marlin loses his wife and all of their eggs except for one, marlin becomes this highly protective father of the one egg that survived, the son he names Nemo, and Nemo has a small fin. Due to this tragic incident, despite Marlin's fears, though, nemo is eager to explore the ocean and prove his independence. You know, marlon is this overprotective father. He's trying to keep Nemo safe and at home, but Nemo just wants to go out and explore the ocean. Well, nemo grows up and it's time for him to go to school. And he goes to school. His father is a nervous wreck and of course wouldn't you have it on the first day of school. They're doing a field trip, and so Marlon is super nervous about this. He goes, and he's trying to chase down the caravan that's going to go to this part of the ocean that Marlon's very uncomfortable with. And as he does, what happens is Nemo starts to swim out further into the ocean and further out to the ocean, because there is a boat and all of Nemo's peers have kind of dared him to go and touch the boat and Marlin's yelling don't do it. And Nemo swims all the way out there and he hits the boat, and on his way back though, a scuba diver swoops up Nemo and takes him away, and from there Marlin embarks on this crazy, epic journey across the ocean to rescue his son. And along the way Marlin meets all sorts of different people or different fish, including Dory, a forgetful but friendly blue tang fish. He meets sharks and he meets sea turtles. And so he goes on this crazy adventure.

But the reason I'm bringing this story up that's the recap. But the reason I'm bringing it up today is that the part of the story that stands out to me is when Nemo is first introduced to the aquarium. The other fish who are in the aquarium they're used to this clean and very controlled environment. They freak out when Nemo is poured in and dumped in and what they do is they got to clean everything now because Nemo is contaminated, he's dirty, he's from the ocean, they scrub him down, they make sure he's presentable and they really emphasize the importance in this initial scene, the importance of having a pristine, small, controlled, artificial environment. And the reason that that sticks out to me is because it made me think of how many of our churches are kind of like this aquarium and how many of our followers of Jesus are like the other fish in the aquarium.

We might be focused on cleaning up the newcomers through spiritual disciplines and maintaining some sort of aspect or appearance of purity. We would say things in the church world, maybe, like you, should dress a certain way, you shouldn't say certain words and, of course, never miss a church gathering, because we can't let this space of our lives get dirty, right? But that's not the point of Christian community or the church. I mean think about Jesus, for example. We read this passage from John last week, but I want to reread it today because it's relevant to our talk. John writes so the Word became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness and we have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son, glory of the Father's one and only Son. You see, jesus could have stayed up in heaven and away from us, away from the ocean, where there's a lot of dirt and it gets messy, but he didn't. Jesus joined us in the ocean, where life happens, and it's why I want to point out that God is the God of the ocean, not just the aquarium.

Life in the ocean is vast, it's diverse, it's full of challenges and opportunity for growth and, yeah, it's a little dangerous and it's definitely dirty. But God calls us, you and me, those of us who are followers of his, to live in the ocean, to embrace the unpredictability and the messiness of real life, rather than staying confined to the controlled and limited space of a church or a small group or the aquarium. And it's in these challenges, this challenging environment, in which we find our true potential and growth. But if we're going to live out in the ocean, how do we live out there? Not just survive, not just make it day to day, but thrive, to live this life that Jesus tells us in John 10, 10, that he has come, that we might have life, and life to the full? This is a question that we all must ask, and it's not just about enduring the challenges of life, but rather in the ocean, this outside of the church walls, it's about using what we go through every day, whether it's at work or at home, in our neighborhood, in our relationships, seeing these opportunities as these challenges and opportunities for growth and transformation. And how we're going to do that and thrive and not just survive, is through community.

You see Marlon, this fish, in this fictionalized story. He had companions along the way. By himself, he could not have journeyed across the ocean. He needed all of these different, new companions along the way. He needed the community that he found himself in to help him, to support him, to teach him, to help him to accomplish the mission that was at hand. And so, as such, if we're going to survive in the ocean of this world, we need each other, we need community, we need Christian community, and that's what we're going to talk about today in the continuation of our series Rediscovering All Our Forgotten Ways.

Over the past month, we've been delving into the values of Madison Church, this missional DNA, as Alan Hirsch calls it. We've talked about Jesus as Lord, and this is our declaration of our commitment to submit every aspect and area of our lives to Him. When Jesus says, follow me and make disciples, we follow Him and we make disciples. This journey requires more than immense courage and strength. Just as Jesus demonstrated, he wasn't on earth from nine to five only to return home to the heavenly realms to rest and recharge for the end of the day. We actually read that Jesus didn't even have a permanent place to stay. When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go. But Jesus replied foxes have dens to live in and the birds have nests, but the son of man has no place even to lay his head.

Being in the ocean might mean that we live a little bit discomforted or that things won't come easy to us. Jesus was in the ocean and we have to follow him into the ocean, even when it means challenge and discomfort. This is the sort of suffering and displacement that isn't just reserved for Jesus. As a matter of fact, we see that the early church experienced this as well, early church leaders and those first followers of Jesus. Peter, the leader of one of these early churches, writes Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you are going through as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad for these trials. Make you partners with Christ in suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to the world.

Peter is saying having a bad day, having a bad week, a season of life, maybe you're just having a bad life. Things at home aren't great, things at work aren't great, maybe it's just some of that, maybe it's all of it. But what Peter is saying is he says you know when you're going through it, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing something wrong. It doesn't mean you're doing something wrong as a matter of fact you're doing something wrong. It doesn't mean you're doing something wrong as a matter of fact, as a follower of Jesus. This makes you and helps you relate to Jesus, who had bad weeks, who had bad seasons and who had a tough time.

Now, certainly, our challenges to our safety and our security look different today than they did 2,000 years ago. Most of us today living in the United States, we're not going to be arrested, tortured or killed for our faith, but we do experience trials in other ways, and one of the ways and one of the main challenges that I think facing us today, as Christians living in the United States, is emotional vulnerability. I think it's hard for us to form deep relationships because it requires an emotional openness that most of us aren't ready to do. We have to be susceptible to getting hurt. We have to open ourselves up to rejection. We're going to be disappointed. I mean, even good people with the best of intentions are going to hurt you. I've hurt people and I bet that you have too. And here's the thing I know that you have been hurt and I want to assure you that I've also been hurt. I'm actually working through that now with some of the this is some of the deepest emotional pain that I'm dealing with in my life is with people who have come into my life and we've built these relationships and then they've left for one reason or some reason or another. But in our shared experiences of emotional pain, I think that we find common ground that unites us as a community.

Now, the easy thing and what's common is to close ourselves off, and instead of doing that, instead of becoming defensive and hardened, I believe that as believers and followers of Jesus, we should continue to put ourselves out there emotionally, to be vulnerable. You see, vulnerability, it isn't a weakness, but it takes an awful lot of strength to continue to be vulnerable, and it's in that strength that we will form deep relationships, meaningful relationships. It's through vulnerability and the strength of being vulnerable that we'll begin to engage other people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, risking misunderstandings, opening ourselves up and being fully aware that conflict is going to occur. But, moreover, sometimes in life we're going to have to navigate moral and ethical dilemmas in the ocean. It's a complex world out there, full of compromise and gray areas, and sometimes we can get into the aquarium inside our four church walls and we can come up with our statement of faith and have position papers and we think that we all think the same. But that's not how the ocean is.

As you see, in the ocean there's lots of ways to think about lots of things, and encountering that those different thoughts and ideas might be challenging to us, especially for people who have held beliefs for a really long time. We may have to face uncomfortable truths, including that we are wrong in some of the ways that we thought or some of the beliefs that we held. We might have to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones and be humble to admit that there were shortcomings in the ways that we thought and how we believed. These are all part of our intellectual and personal growth. This flies in the face of our culture, which encourages us and rewards the pursuit of comfort and convenience. But this is our ocean.

To live in the ocean as followers of Jesus today is to be emotionally vulnerable. It's to put ourselves out there to be hurt. It's to challenge our own beliefs. It's to live in discomfort. This is the ocean, and so it's no surprise to me that we prefer to live in the safety and cleanliness of an aquarium. It's just that, unfortunately, this mentality has leaked into the church world to the point of us being scared and fearful about ever leaving the aquarium. It's come to the point where I think a lot of churches, when new people come in, we rush to clean them up Again. We want to focus on those spiritual disciplines, the outward behavior. We strive to keep the aquarium pure and clean, just like the fish in the tank. We could become overly focused on the appearance and cleanliness of our small environment. But God is calling us to something greater the vast, unpredictable ocean where true life happens. And in the ocean we're going to encounter all sorts of people People who are different than us, people who challenge us and people who help us grow and to thrive. Out there we're going to need each other. We don't go out there and add it alone, but rather we go out there and add it together. And if we're going to be emotionally vulnerable and do all of the things that we've talked to up until this point, we're going to have to begin to develop really good, healthy relationships within the church. This is one of our values at Madison Church. It is community, and if we're going to have community, we have to have practices that set ourselves up for good and healthy relationships, even in the case of conflict. And so, while I could talk about conflict resolution and I could talk about small groups, today I want to talk about a practice that I think helps build strong community bonds, and that is eating together or sharing a meal together.

There are three times in the Gospels, those four biographies of Jesus, in which we are told explicitly why the Son of man came to earth. Two of them won't surprise you, but I think one might. First, in Mark, we read for even the Son of man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. So Jesus came to serve, not be served. We're aware of that. As such, you and I are called to serve, not be served. And then in Luke, we read the Son of man came to seek and save those who are lost. So Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and we are also called to seek out and help those who are far from God. Now here's that third reason. Again, I bet those other two don't surprise you, but this one might. The third and final explicit reason that we are told Jesus came. It says that the Son of man came eating and drinking. Jesus came eating and drinking and drinking. Jesus came eating and drinking not in the glory of the clouds of heaven, accompanied by angels and their trumpets, but rather Jesus came eating and drinking while serving, seeking and saving. And if we're followers of Jesus, as we talked about in week one, and if our goal as disciple makers is to look like Jesus and help other people look like Jesus, shouldn't we do the same Eat, drink, serve, seek and save?

Jesus was so known for this aspect of eating and drinking that he's actually accused of being a glutton and a drunkard. And as my friend Judd, a leader here at Madison Church, likes to point out, you don't get accused of those things if you don't have a reputation for eating and drinking a lot. Now, this isn't to make light of alcoholism or alcohol abuse, and it certainly isn't to be dismissive of any sort of eating disorder. Those are both very serious problems. But what I want to point out is that Jesus didn't hide at home. He wasn't away from the ocean in his safe aquarium. He was out there living life sharing meals with other people, and he doesn't deny it either. You see, the Pharisees and the religious leaders come to him with these accusations of you're a drunkard, you're a glutton. He doesn't deny it. Actually, he does the opposite. He instructs his followers to eat and drink whenever they gather in remembrance of him. Now we call this communion 2,000 years later. But 2,000 years ago, when the early church met and they were having communion, it was a love feast, like potlucks and Thanksgiving dinners. They were a big time to get together and enjoy each other.

The drunkard and the glutton instructed his followers to eat and drink in remembrance of him, and that is completely subversive, which is almost how we know. It comes from Jesus, because Jesus is the Lord of what we would call an upside down kingdom. Subversive it doesn't always make sense at first, but let's make this personal. All this talk of eating and drinking is making me kind of hungry and thirsty myself. This week we're going to eat around 20 meals, so could you share two of those meals with someone, one of whom isn't a part of our Madison Church community, one with someone who is, because, again, if we're going to go out to the ocean and take on the ocean. We need other Christian companions to go on the journey with us. Marlon needed Dory, but we don't want this to become an insider exercise. Also, it is a missional practice, a spiritual discipline. You're already going to eat, so why not include someone with you?

The power of sharing meals lies in the space that it creates for genuine connection and conversation. When we gather around the table, we find opportunities to listen to others, to learn and to share our lives. Jesus often used meals. When you read through the Gospels, any one of them, you're going to see that he often used mealtime to teach, to heal and to connect with people from all walks of life. When we get together and eat, 2,000 years later, it's no different. Barriers are broken down, we move beyond surface-level interactions and we build deep relationships. It's far beyond the handshake how are you? How are you? How was your week? Good? It's more than the text message updates, but this is spending multiple minutes and hours together.

Sharing a meal is a simple yet profound way to foster unity and understanding in a divided world. Practicing hospitality is a powerful form of ministry and by inviting other people into our homes and around our tables, we reflect God's welcoming heart. This isn't about impressing others with our culinary skills. You don't have to be a great cook. As a matter of fact, you can be a bad cook and order some takeout or something. You don't have to have the biggest home with the nicest things. What we're looking for is real and authentic people. That's what the world needs, not newer, bigger, better houses. As you plan your week and your grocery list, consider which meals you can share with others Perhaps it's breakfast, or maybe it's dinner or lunch and extend an invitation to a neighbor or coworker, someone you've recently met, and use this time to encourage, listen and build relationships.

Ask questions beyond the small talk, to really get to know someone. Whether you gather at home or at a park or in the cafe, create an inviting and comfortable atmosphere where meaningful conversation can happen. And for some of us, who are quiet, maybe passive or introverted, the challenge for us is to not wait for the invite or to react to invites. The challenge for us, then, is to be proactive and to initiate these conversations, these meals. We have to be approachable and available. It's not just enough to be approachable if I'm never available. It's not just enough to be available if I'm not approachable. I need to be both approachable and available and to seek out to be proactive in sharing meals with others. So share again two meals this week and perhaps this can be a missional practice in your own life, to begin a weekly thing of sharing a meal or two with someone outside of our community and someone inside of the community. It is through this simple act we will create meaningful connections and extend the love of God to others around us.

Now the aquarium is safe, but that's not where life happens or where God is calling us to be. In the ocean we encounter all sorts of fish. Those who are different than us, challenge us and help us. In this vast, open environment is where we truly experience the fullness of the life that God intends for us. If you feel spiritually stagnant or like you haven't grown, perhaps it's because you've outgrown the aquarium, you've outgrown the space, you've worked a long time and you've put a lot of effort into making it clean and pure and the way that you think it should be, and perhaps that's the problem. Perhaps God is calling you out to something a little bit more unknown, and I get that. That's scary, because familiar is comfortable, and when we get out into the ocean and things get hard. We want to go back to the aquarium, where it's safe. But it's in the ocean that we get to find God in his fullest form, where we learn to trust him in ways that we can't learn to trust him in the aquarium, where we experience his love in ways that we won't experience it in the aquarium. It's the adventure that we're supposed to have as people of faith. This is the true beauty and diversity of God's creation.

So, as we head into our time of communion, as we do every week, let's take a moment to reflect on these questions.

Do I genuinely love the people in my community? How are my relationships with my friends? Is my family happy and thriving? Am I making myself vulnerable to others? Do members of my group feel cared for? Am I effective at resolving conflict when Jesus is the Lord of our lives and we follow in his footsteps and make disciples? It means that we must go out into the world, both missionally and incarnationally, living out our faith and everyday interactions. But we're not alone in this. We're not alone in this. We have a community, a family of faith to help sustain us, to lift us up as we stumble and to celebrate with us when we succeed. So let's commit to moving beyond the confines of the aquarium and the confines of Sunday morning of one hour of meeting in the church, and let's move beyond this and let's start with the simple practice of sharing meals, because by sharing meals we build genuine relationships, we have opportunities to support one another and we embody the community that reflects God's love and grace.